Desperate Local Governments Making Staying On Top of Your Credit Even More Difficult

Posted Jul 19 2010 by Marc Chasewith 0 Comments

In the past, we blogged about a recent trend among local governments who are so desperate for income that they’d begun taxing basic services on everything from dry-cleaning to hiring a magician for your kid’s birthday party.  Now, these cash-strapped provinces are looking for more aggressive tactics to try and save themselves from this recession, which can make personal credit repair just a little harder.

Better clear out that drawer of unpaid parking tickets

Yes, it’s true.  The days of blowing off parking tickets in a lot of states are coming to an end.  Of course, if you’re a responsible adult, those days were never around in the first place.  But for the rest of us you, who throw out those ticket stubs almost as soon they’re handed to you and never pay any more attention to them, those days are over – assuming you care about the state of your credit history, that is.

Whereas before you may have only troubled yourself with minor worries like higher car insurance rates or the possibility of losing your driver’s license, local governments are cracking down and sending any and all unpaid or idle tickets (both parking and speeding) straight to collection agencies.  So now you not only have to worry about paying off that speeding ticket you got 3 years ago and dealing with the repercussions on your insurance rates, you add it showing up on your credit report and driving down your credit score to the list of worries as well.

And unlike a ticket, which can be paid and forgotten in an afternoon, a collection on your report is like a bad case of herpes – it’ll follow you everywhere.

And while you’re at it, the library wants a word with you about those overdue books

Not content with adding to your worries with throwing your unpaid tickets to the wolves, many state governments are looking at library fees for extra income as well.  Your local library (that’s that big building where they store a bunch of books, for our younger readers) is tired of you not returning those overdue books and DVDs, and since revoking your library card doesn’t seem to do the trick (who’da thunk?), they’ve begun following the parking tickets’ example and begun forwarding your overdue fees to, you guessed it, a collection agency.

Unlike parking tickets, overdue fees from a library should really be a non-issue for most people, I would think.  Just imagine the embarrassment of opening a letter from a collection agency telling you they intend to collect on that long overdue copy of Twilight you checked out in secret, and that should incite you to pay off any fees.

Seriously, we’ve been in this business for over 10 years, and have seen every kind of collection known to man – from major medical bills to unpaid fees from Pizza Hut and Blockbuster – but collections for overdue library books?  That’s a little much, we think, but clearly local governments are trying every tactic they can to keep themselves out of the red for as long as they can.  And if you want to make sure you don’t wind up on the wrong end of these tickets and fees, and want to keep yourself on the right path to debt relief, stay on top of your finances before they’re pulled out from under you

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How to Improve My Credit Score

Posted Jul 19 2010 by Marc Chasewith 0 Comments

Credit repair is probably going to do most of the groundwork with the credit reporting agencies and your creditors, but what you do when the credit repair is completed is even more important when you’re trying to improve your credit score. Too often consumers assume that the credit repair and debt relief was supposed to clean up their credit reports, pay off all of their credit card debt and leave them with excellent credit scores.

While credit repair will probably stop any decrease in your scores, it's going to take some time, some hard work, and a lot of patience to get your financial profile back on track. Companies can challenge your reports' inaccuracies, settle debts for you, even open up lines of credit for you; but they can't do everything. You are ultimately going to have to show some initiative if you are truly committed to maximizing your score.

Constantly Monitoring Your Reports

You've probably seen the commercials or read the advertisements about credit monitoring services, they're everywhere. There's a reason for this; it's never been so important to keep an eye on the accounts being reported to the bureaus. Not only are they used for loan and credit card applications, but an increasing number of employers and property managers are using credit checks as part of their application process.

Whether you choose to pay a monthly fee in order to monitor the bureaus on a constant basis is up to you. All three major credit bureaus will provide consumers with a free credit report once every 12 months. It is highly advisable to take them up on this free offer. Not inspecting your reports on a regular basis may leave you worse off than you were before you started repairing your credit.

Keeping Balances Low

This is one of the most overlooked aspects of consumers' credit scores. Your debt-to-limit ratio is a very large percentage of what goes into that score. A debt-to-limit ratio is basically the total amount of money borrowed on open lines of revolving credit compared to the total amount of the limits on those cards. Anything under 20% is considered adequate and should make a positive impact on your scores.

Simply going from a 20% debt-to-limit ratio to having all of your cards maxed out, and vice versa, can change scores by over 100 points. Once you bring the balances down though, make sure you keep them there. The longer the history of sensible credit usage, the higher your scores will peak.

Having a Favorable Credit Profile

The formula which determines your credit score is more heavily guarded than Fort Knox or the colonel's original recipe. However it is generally accepted that the Americans with first-class credit profiles tend to have anywhere between three and five opened lines of revolving credit, as well an installment loan and mortgage.

There are many consumers who believe that one credit card is all that they'll ever need. While this does limit your ability to get into too much trouble debt-wise, it may not be optimum in terms of your credit profile. On the other end of the spectrum, shopaholics with a card in their wallet for every store they've ever shopped at might want to think about trimming some of the unnecessary accounts out of their lives (being careful of course not to lower the overall age of your accounts)

If your credit profile was really damaged, you may have to start with a secured credit card. While they are very useful to the rebuilding process, the fees can be a bit much. Use them for a few months to demonstrate your newfound responsibility, and then open another line of credit that won't be so expensive.

Budgeting and Savings

This is perhaps the most difficult undertaking once the credit repair is done with. However, now that you've started on the road to a better financial future, you don't want to have to take a step back because you continue to spend frivolously. On top of that, unexpected events are going to happen that would create a financial burden; but if you have the money saved away you may just be able to come away unscathed. Thankfully, if you've planned ahead, your credit profile will not suffer as a result.

There are plenty of simple budgeting websites online, or you could always consult with your personal bank as to tips on saving and budgeting. Not enough Americans budget and this is what leads them down a path where they end up needing credit repair. If you've already repaired your credit, learn from your mistakes and put in the time that budgeting is inevitably going to take. You'll be happy that you did.

Be Patient

None of this is going to be done overnight so don't expect miracles in a short period of time. You need to be patient and understand that the longer you keep up your good habits, the more your credit score should improve and the more savings you should have put away. It's a fairly simple blueprint for success, but it's sometimes hard to stick to it. Remember to always keep your goals at the forefront of your mind and you will be successful.

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How Does Credit Repair Work?

Posted Jul 19 2010 by Marc Chasewith 0 Comments

Like most financial services credit repair isn’t a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all type of procedure.  Because sending a dispute letter might work for a small percentage of consumers, doesn’t mean that it’ll work for you.

What you want to do is figure out what approach is going to work best for your particular situation.  But to think that a company that only takes one approach to fix your credit is going to work is a risky proposition.  And one that'll probably fail and leave you aggravated with credit repair as a whole.

What is Your Circumstances?

Have you looked at your credit reports?  Do you know what’s holding your credit score down?  Is it late payments, collections, a tax lien?  Everyone’s credit profile is going to be different and as a result, so is the solution that’s going to best repair your credit.

Each derogatory account on your credit report is probably going to need a different solution if you’re looking to improve your credit score.  Just trying to dispute every negative account, isn’t going to get you the results that you’re looking for.  And you’ll end up paying for months of service to see almost no change to your credit score.

Find a Complete Credit Repair Company

Good credit repair usually involves a range of credit repair tactics.  While disputing negative accounts has been advertized as the magical fix to your credit repair problems, the truth is that actually boosting your credit score takes a lot more than that.

Accounts that are yours may require letters sent to the creditors, or maybe you need debt relief too.  Potential lenders are going to want to see that not only that you’ve taken care of past credit card debt but that you’re currently using new credit responsibly.  Good credit repair services will help you get those new lines of credit that you need.  They’ll also layout a plan explaining where your credit card balances should be, and how to use your cards properly to max out those credit scores.

Taking the First Step

Deciding on the best credit repair services for your needs is going to take some work on your part.  Make sure you’re completely comfortable with the company you choose.  After all, you are investing your hard earned money to try and correct your financial future, not just to make someone else rich.

Credit repair is excellent at stopping any decrease in your credit score, but that’s usually where credit repair ends.  Excellent credit repair services won’t end there; they’ll explain exactly how to go about building a positive credit profile, improving your credit score in the process.

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Who Says Crime Doesn’t Pay?

Posted Jul 19 2010 by Marc Chasewith 0 Comments

This post doesn’t have much to do with the subject of credit repair or debt relief (at least not on the surface), but after reading it on my RSS feed this morning, I just had to share it anyway.

It seems the Chief of Police in Oakland, CA released a list of 44 different crimes – including grand theft, vandalism, and even identity theft – the department will no longer respond to due to budget cuts and lack of manpower.

A partial list of the crimes that no longer receive the attention they warrant includes:

• burglary
• theft
• embezzlement
• grand theft
• grand theft: dog
• identity theft
• false information to peace officer
• required to register as sex or arson offender
• required to register as a Raiders fan
• dump waste or offensive matter
• discard appliance with lock
• loud music
• possess forged notes
• pass fictitious check
• obtain money by false voucher
• fraudulent use of access cards
• stolen license plate
• embezzlement by an employee (over $ 400)
• extortion
• attempted extortion
• false personification of other
• injure telephone/ power line
• interfere with power line
• unauthorized cable TV connection
• vandalism
• administer/expose poison to another's

As you can see, this list runs the gamut from mundane (stolen cable TV) to pretty damn serious (embezzlement/extortion).  If you happen to be a victim of any of these crimes, you can let the police know via their website, though what happens from there is really anyone’s guess.

So why the decrease in police responses?  Blame the recession (again).  The department was forced to lay off as many as 80 officers – mostly new recruits – in an attempt to close the $30

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What is Debt Relief? How to Settle Your Own Debts.

Posted Jul 19 2010 by Marc Chase in Debt Settlementwith 0 Comments

Being overwhelmed by outstanding debts can be one of the most stressful times in anyone’s life.  But this doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the world.  Debt relief isn’t necessarily easy, but if you’re willing to put in the time and hard work, it’s well worth it.  These are the 3 most important steps of debt settlement.

Step #1:  Get Y ourself Organized

It’s important that you’re patient and pay very close attention to every detail.  All the important information regarding the account in question has to be readily available.

You are also going to want to have an idea of what you can pay them, whether it be in a lump sum or broken down over payments.  Do not agree to pay more than you know is possible or you’ll just end up in the same predicament a few months down the road.

Step #2:  Prepare for the Phone Call

Collection agencies and creditors aren’t generally the nicest of people if your account happens to be overdue.  Their tone will be harsh and they will try to direct the phone conversation in the manner they’ve been taught.  State your purpose from the beginning; that you are looking to negotiate a payment with them.

Do not get irate or use profanities no matter how upset you become.  It’ll get you nowhere, and will likely end with worse results.  Try to have the call out through to a supervisor if at all possible since they’re much more likely to reach a deal with you.

Step #3:  Keep a Record of Every Correspondence

Every correspondence or agreement you make should be in writing before you actually start making payments.  Collection agencies are notorious for telling you one thing on the phone, then forgetting that the conversation ever happened.  If you reach an agreement that you are happy with, get it in writing first.

Category: Debt Settlement

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